Rest In Peace D.G. Martin

Oh no say it ain’t so!?! He never met a stranger and reported on all things NC! I loved his articles, TV stuff and attitude! He was one of us for sure. RIP brother!
 
"Martin’s story began in Atlanta, where he was born, but it did not take long for him to get to the state of North Carolina, which came to mean so much to him. The son of Davidson College President David Grier Martin, D.G. grew up in the Charlotte area before attending the school and playing basketball for the Wildcats. After serving as a Green Beret in the U.S. Army and graduating from Yale Law School, he returned to live in Charlotte to practice law. Martin was long connected in political circles, with two congressional campaigns in the 1980s where he fell short of being elected in the general rounds and another in 1998 where he lost the Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat. Despite those losses, he built a reputation for shaping the state through his time with the UNC System. D.G. served as the secretary of the university beginning in 1987 and eventually became its vice president for public affairs, working closely with decision-makers in the North Carolina legislature and the UNC System’s Board of Governors.

Martin’s time as the host of “North Carolina Bookwatch,” since the series’ third season beginning in 1999 and until its conclusion in 2021 introduced him to countless North Carolinians on UNC-TV, and his “One on One” column – posted “every week without fail since 1985” and published in papers across the Old North State – shared his thoughts and musings with many. Both series blended Martin’s curiosity for North Carolina history, state and national politics, and observations of daily life to share thoughtful perspectives with his dedicated readers.

He also earned acclaim for his 2016 book “North Carolina’s Roadside Eateries: A Traveler’s Guide to Local Restaurants, Diners, and Barbecue Joints” – which was so popular, he published an expanded and revised edition in 2024. His fondness for diners and local fare was well-known, and Martin never missed an opportunity to extoll the virtues of his favorite spots across the South.

D.G. Martin was a regular presence on 97.9 The Hill WCHL, hosting “Who’s Talking” alongside his written work published on Chapelboro.com. From 2002 onward, his voice was a frequent feature on air and many famous personalities shared the studio with him over decades of broadcasting. Figures like Lefty Driesell (his college basketball coach at Davidson), Bill Friday, James Moeser, former basketball stars, professors and more felt entirely at home chatting with, and alongside, Martin. During each recording at the radio station, he always brightened the room with his smile and stories."
 
donbosco said:
chapelboro.com

North Carolina Author, UNC Administrator and Radio Show Host D.G. Martin Dies at 85 - Chapelboro.com

D.G. Martin – a lawyer and UNC System administrator turned author and book reviewer – died on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at his home in Chapel Hill.
chapelboro.com chapelboro.com


A true Mr. North Caroliniana Has Left Us.
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I still remember when he ran for the US House as the Democratic candidate in a Charlotte-based district that in those days was mostly Republican. It was 1984 and Reagan was running for reelection and carried NC with 63% of the vote, but D.G. ran a very strong race and lost by a heartbreakingly close margin to his GOP opponent - it was something like 350 votes out of over 218,000 cast, or a margin of just 0.2%. As I recall it took a few days to determine the winner. Martin was very gracious when he conceded, but it just had to be gut-wrenching to lose by such a tiny margin.
 
D.G. and my parents were good friends, and he and my dad former law partners. D.G. hired my dad out of law school. My dad went on to manage at least one of his congressional campaigns. My first experiences with politics involved going to virtually every D.G. Martin campaign event there was during the 1984 election season and going with my parents all around town to hand out D.G. Martin campaign flyers. He lost an extremely close race in 1984 to Alex McMillan. Years later, my dad was with him somewhere when the George W. Bush inauguration was being shown on TV. D.G. pointed to the TV, and said, “When I first ran for Congress in 1984, I thought that would be me up there right now.”

D.G. was also a neighbor of ours when he lived in Charlotte, and his daughter babysat me when I was young.

My mom also produced his show that appeared on public access TV called “One on One with D.G. Martin,” where he would interview guests on various topics. I got to meet UNC basketball legend Bobby Jones within a couple weeks after he retired from the NBA and moved back to Charlotte when he appeared as a guest on the show.

He was known as great guy by everyone who knew him.
 
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